


Qrow Branwen is the Best Dad Ever

by sophiecaelin



Category: RWBY
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26802181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophiecaelin/pseuds/sophiecaelin
Summary: Clover wasn't sure what he was expecting when he was told to take his team to survey a group of fugitives. It certainly wasn't this.Qrow is the best dad when his kids are treated like criminals.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 25
Kudos: 140





	1. Surveillance

Clover was not expecting the sight that he found when he reached the campsite. When Ironwood told him to take the Ace-Ops to stake out some fugitives, he did not expect a bunch of kids, and a little old lady huddled around a fire telling stories. 

“ -and that’s when she opens the door to find Jaune on the other side of it, trying to serenade her into going to the dance with him!” 

“Aww, come on! You guys are never going to let me live that down, are you?”

He isn’t sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this. From the looks he was getting from his team, they were all thinking along the same lines. He gave a nod of his head, telling them that they were to continue laying low, waiting for the order from Ironwood on how they were to proceed. He goes back to watching the group, trying to figure out what it was they could have done to be considered fugitives. 

_ Do they know about Salem?  _ He thinks to himself.  _ Could they work for her? I don’t know what use the immortal witch could have for a bunch of kids and their grandma, but I guess one should never be too careful. The kids are probably hunters-in-training, as they have weapons, and look trained, but don’t have the look of bandits. Must be from Beacon. Could have even been the cause of the Fall. Maybe that’s why they’re fugitives. _

He surveys the group again, this time picking each of them apart. He sees a boy, probably no older than 15, holding a cane. He seems to be the youngest, and the others seem protective of him if the looks they keep throwing him are anything to go by. He is sitting on the ground, back pressed against the log that the old lady is sitting on.  _ He can’t have been at Beacon, much too young. Must have joined up with them sometime on the road. Doesn’t seem to be a big threat, but don’t forget he’s there. _

Continuing his analyses of the group, he looks towards the old lady. She has some prosthetic eyes of some sort, look like Atlas tech. She is sitting off a bit from the group on her own log but still seems to be contributing to the conversation with enthusiasm. She laughs softly, shaking her head, at one girl’s antics.  _ Now she was definitely much too old to have been at Beacon. She must have been in Atlas recently if those eyes are anything to go by. Might have been collecting intel here, and is now relaying it onto the group. Doesn’t appear to be much of a threat, no weapon, that I can see at least, and I doubt that she could do much even if she had one.  _ He now turns his eyes towards those in the group that may prove a bigger threat. He scans his eyes over them, getting caught on someone he recognizes quickly. 

_ Is that…? I can’t believe it! That’s Weiss Schnee! I thought she went missing from Atlas a couple of months ago! What is she doing in a group like this? She doesn’t appear to be kidnapped, she’s laughing along with the group, but what does that mean about the group? Winter has said nothing but praises about her little sister. Does she know about this? Ironwood probably wouldn’t call the group fugitives if she did… _ He shakes his head, trying to clear his rapidly building thoughts.  _ Ok, enough of that. Winter hasn’t spoken to her sister in forever, she probably isn’t aware that Weiss has joined the group. Weiss Schnee was dropped as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, perhaps she wants revenge? Regardless, if her sister is anything to go by, not to mention what she has said about her, she is not to be taken lightly. Not a super high threat, as she never finished school, but I have no clue what she picked up on the road. _

He scans his eyes over her, taking in her appearance. She is laughing along with the group, her sword propped up beside her on the log, and she is sitting in between two other girls, one of which has her arm around her. The girl with her arm around Schnee is shouting, pointing her finger at everyone else accusingly, all while keeping the other girl tucked under her arm. She has brown hair and has dyed her tips red.

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK! I WAS THE BEST LEADER EVER!”

Red seems to be her theme, as she is covered head-to-toe in red and black. She has a bit of an emo-vibe going on, with the bangs and the black corset. She has a big red cape around her neck, which must be heavy, but the other girl doesn’t seem bothered by the weight as she suddenly leaps up to tackle a red-head.

“HOW DARE YOU! COOKIES ARE WAY BETTER THAN PANCAKES!”

Weiss rolls her eyes fondly, shaking her head and picking up her feet when they start rolling around. As they are rolling around, he spots what must be the girl’s weapon hooked to her back, preciously hidden by the cape. 

_ Doesn’t appear to be a high threat level, but without fully knowing what her weapon or semblance is, there is no way to know how dangerous the girl might be. Seems a little shocking, her and Schnee. Never would have thought about such a combination. _ Turning his gaze to the girl on Schnee’s other side, who has her own arm around another. He pauses.  _ Where have I seen her before…?  _ He trails his eyes down to the prosthetic on her right arm and takes a minute.  _ Isn’t that…? That’s Atlas tech. Why would a girl their age need such a prosthetic?  _ He ponders on this for a few more minutes before it clicks.  _ Xiao-Long! It was the girl from the Vytal Festival. The one that unjustly attacked her opponent, after she already won. Now that I think about it, in the doubles portion, she fought with Schnee as her partner. They must have been on the same team back at Beacon. That would explain how Weiss was suddenly so chummy with a bunch of fugitives. It all makes sense now. Now, Xiao-Long, I can believe works for Salem, and she must have dragged the others into it as well. _

He glares down at the girl, trying to analyze her now as well. She had one arm draped lazily over the shoulders of some Faunus girl, the other raised in glee as she cheers on the fight, her blonde hair going every which way from the force of her cheers. She shoots a look over at the young boy, seemingly asking him a silent question. He nods with a smile, and she shoots him a big grin and a thumbs-up, before continuing her cheering.

“You tell her sis! Kick her butt!”

_ She definitely has the build of a brawler, and if I remember right, from the Festival, that bracelet on her arm is a gauntlet. And there is no telling how dangerous that other arm is. How did she even get access to it? She didn’t have it before The Fall. _

He turns his head to the girl next to Xiao-Long. She is a cat Faunus, as the two ears on the top of her head prove. She seems much more subdued than the bombshell next to her, but she is still laughing along with the rest of the group. Her ears are pinned down to her head from her laughter, and she is covering her mouth with her hand as she laughs. She is the only one in the group that doesn’t have a coat, but she doesn’t seem to mind too much as she cozies up to the blonde under the guise of a breeze. Said blonde just smiles gently down at her as she blushes. 

  
  


Clover doesn’t understand how someone who is apparently so evil could possibly look at someone else with such tenderness and files that information away for later. If he didn’t immediately recognize her, he may have thought of her as the mother hen of the group, with the looks she shot towards them. He would also immediately assume that she was in love with the Faunus girl. Maybe the Faunus girl could be used for leverage against Xiao-Long should it ever come to that. He then curses himself out in his head.  _ You asshole. Remember! You aren’t aware of the whole situation. For all you know, Xiao-Long could have been set up. And even if she wasn’t, it’s not okay to use another person as leverage. _

Shaking his head, he continues his break-down of the group. Looking back at the cat Faunus quickly, he assesses that she can be deemed a high-level threat if she has a decent weapon, but her weapon is lying on the ground next to her and appears to be broken. The blade has been shattered, and the only part that seems to work is the gun component. 

He turns his gaze towards the group sitting with their backs towards him. The girl that is rolling around on the ground with the self-proclaimed leader is a short red-headed girl that seems to pack a lot of punch. Clover assumes that it’s her weapon leaning against the log, as the other two boys with her have theirs. She is very energetic, and her weapon is a giant hammer that reminds him a lot of Elm’s.  _ Very high-threat I think if she uses that weapon like Elm does. She should be taken care of first, along with Xiao-Long. _

As he thinks that, the girl jumps up with a hoot of glee at something one of her colleagues say, running towards her log and jumping down next to a boy with long black hair tied into a low ponytail. He, and the blonde boy next to him, are both cleaning their weapons. Ponytail’s are two guns, that have knives embedded into the handles, while the blonde’s are just a simple sword and shield. Clover deems them both to be medium-level risks.

The red-head seems to be choosing not to notice that her sudden jump caused the other girl to fall backward onto her back with a groan of pain. Xiao-Long helps her up chuckling, before looking all over her, looking for injuries.

“Just let me look you over real quick, I’ve brawled with Nora before, I know how much it can hurt ya later on.”

“Uuuuuugh, Yaaaaaaaaaaang! I’m fine! I didn’t even get hurt! I’m so tough, she never laid a finger on me!”

To emphasize her point she strikes a ninja pose, chopping her hands through the air. The others just chuckle fondly, and Yang shakes her head before plopping back on the log.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do with you, Ruby, I really don’t.”

“Do with me? How dare you! I am your fearsome leader! I can do what I want with me, whenever me decides! You forget, big sister, I am in charge of you!” 

“Forgive me, O’ Fearsome Leader! I should not have defied thy will!”

Yang gets down on her knees and starts bowing before her little sister dramatically, Nora joining in. Everyone starts laughing along, as Ruby starts strutting before the two on the ground.

_ So, Ruby is the leader, hmmm? She appears younger than the rest, and she said that ‘Yang’ was her older sister. How did someone that young get into Beacon in the first place? Ozpin must have admitted her early. Strange. _

As Clover is thinking all of this through, the bushes near the fire start to rustle. Everyone in the campsite looks up at the same time, and reach for their weapons simultaneously, all except for the Faunus, who rolls her eyes in exasperation.

“It’s just Qrow.”

“Way to ruin the surprise, kiddo,” a voice drawls lazily, as the man it belongs to slinks out of the shadows.


	2. Qrow and Jaune Bonding Time

“UNCLE QROW!” The two sisters jump on the man and tackle him in a bear hug.

“Calm down, kiddos, I was only gone for an hour!” They let him up and the others all gather around to give their own hugs. Qrow gives them each a hug, before leading them back to the campfire and having them all sit down. He plops down next to the young boy, ruffling his hair as he does so. “How they been treating you, Oscar? Get bored of all their stories yet?”

Oscar grins up at him, shaking his head. Behind them, the old lady huffs.

“Well, I have. These kids need to learn not to play with their food so much!”

“Aw come on! Even you have to admit that the food fight sounded awesome, Maria!” Nora shouts with glee. She goes on to prove her point by gesturing to each person in their group. “I mean, Weiss nearly died, Yang had turkeys on her hands, Blake used those sausages like nunchucks!” She says this last part while clinging onto Blake’s shoulders. “Not to mention Jaune, doing that front-flip, with the watermelon! I mean come on! Where did that even come from?!” She then latches on to the blonde boy.

“Aw come on! I can do stuff!” Jaune starts pouting as Nora pats his head condescending. She then jumps off of him and into the other boy’s lap, batting her eyes up at him as he sits there nonchalantly like this is an everyday occurrence.

“Not to mention how awesome Ren was with those leeks! Or how Ruby used her speed to turn the tide on us when Pyrrha nearly secured our victory with those soda cans!” At the mention of this ‘Pyrrha’, they all seemed to become much more subdued. Nora slides off Ren’s lap, back on to the log. Clover can’t see her face, but from the slouch of her shoulders, he knows that this is a tough topic. 

He remembers hearing about the legendary Pyrrha Nikos, and her decision to go to Beacon instead of Haven. He never cared all too much, as she was never planning to go to Atlas Academy, but he did know that she was a reputable fighter, and was respected by many. He also knew from others that spoke of her that she had strong moral values, and that is why she always wanted to be a huntress. To help others. From the way the group was talking about her, they must have been friends.

“You guys know she wouldn’t want you beating yourself up about her death. She died doing what was right, and it would hurt her more to know that she caused you all so much pain.”

Qrow speaks softly, to everyone, but he is only looking at one of them. 

Jaune has his head in his hands, pulling at his hair through his fingers. The others all share a look, and Yang gestures for everyone to start heading towards their tents. She speaks quietly, but Clover can still hear her ask Ruby and Oscar if they brushed their teeth, before grabbing Blake’s hand and pulling her towards their shared tent after the confirmation. Everyone breaks off into their respective partnerships, going to the tents, all except for Maria and Oscar, who each enter separate tents. Maria, because she sleeps alone in her tent, and Oscar, with a glance over his shoulder in concern at his new partner, who is still fighting tears by the fire.

Clover watches as Qrow gets up and walks slowly over to the boy. He sits down next to him and stares at the fire. Wanting to watch them better, he silently moves through the tree-tops until he can clearly see their faces and their weapons.

“Did Ruby and Yang ever tell you about their mother?” At this, Jaune looks up, tears streaming down his face as he shakes his head softly. “Well, I guess by now you are already aware that they have different birth mothers. What with what happened at Haven and all.” Jaune hesitantly nods his head this time, shooting a glance towards the tents. Qrow notices and waves it off. “Oh, don’t worry about them. If they get mad with me telling you this, I’ll take the heat. They’re both already mad at me, remember? And I don’t blame them, after what happened at the barn. I expected Ruby to punch me to the moon!” He shoots Jaune a wink as the boy chuckles softly. “Anyway, you met Yang’s birth mother, my sister, at Haven. Raven. She’s always been difficult to work with, I just don’t want to believe that she would willingly help Salem after everything Oz told us when we were younger.”

At this information, Clover can feel his head reeling.  _ Wait… so this group  _ doesn’t  _ work for Salem? Then what other reason is there that Ironwood would want them arrested? _ Below him, Qrow is continuing his story.

“After what Yang told me though, about what happened in the vault, I can’t say I’m too surprised. Being Spring Maiden meant unbelievable power for her, but it also meant a big red target on her back. Still, turning her back on Yang must have hurt Yang more than she’s willing to let on.” Qrow sighs, shaking his head. He gives Jaune a wry smile, “Sorry, kiddo, I got off topic again, didn’t I? It always seemed easier to do these heart-to-hearts when I was pumped full of alcohol, but I promised myself I would try to be better. For you kids. You guys have been having to do all these dangerous things on your own for too long. It’s time a semi-responsible adult help you out, at least.”

“What, and you think that’s you?” Jaune shoots back at him cheekily, ducking under the playful swat Qrow sends his way.

“Watch it, kid. I’ve been told I’m dangerous when angry.”

“By who, your mom?” At this, Qrow lets out of yell of pain and holds a hand to his heart, falling against the now laughing boy. 

“You wound me, kid! Aren’t I supposed to be telling you a story? Will you quit being a cheeky little bastard for five minutes?” Jaune holds his hands up in surrender as they both chuckle softly. He then gets a sad look on his face.

“I miss her. Bad. I… I think I know what you are trying to tell me. It’s about Ruby’s mom, right? Summer Rose? I don’t know the whole story, but I’m not as dumb as everyone makes me out to be. I know something happened to her when they were little. I can tell from the way Yang acts that she had to take care of Ruby. I don’t know what happened to Summer, or their dad, but I know that those two share an inseparable bond, one that isn’t just from being siblings. Trust me, if that was the case, then we’d have my nine older sisters on the road with us.” Jaune says all this concernedly, and like he’s trying to figure something out in his head.

Qrow just sighs, nodding his head. “I know you think they all look down on you, Jaune, but that isn’t the case. You are a brilliant strategist, and the others know how smart you are. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your brilliant ideas!” He sighs again, and his face gets a bit pinched. “Summer Rose was… my best friend, I think. She was always there for me, and always there for my sister and Tai, too. She was the best leader a team could ask for. I… I never got to say goodbye to her. I was on a mission already when she left for hers, and I was supposed to get back the day before she did. I remember… waiting, with Ruby and Yang, by the door. They were so little. Ruby could barely speak, but boy, could she run around that house. And don’t even get me started on Yang. Remind me to tell you about her first haircut, sometime. Anyway… We waited by that door all day long. It started getting darker, and darker… Ruby fell asleep on me, at some point, but Yang was determined to stay awake for as long as it took. Of course, after she said that, she fell asleep an hour later.” Qrow chuckles softly. “Tai was working that night, so I was babysitting anyway, so I tucked the girls to bed, and went back out to the living room.” He turns to look at Jaune, who is listening intently. “It took another full week before we realized that she wasn’t coming home.” He pauses for a moment, swallowing thickly. “Yang… well, Ruby, I don’t think fully understood until much later that her mother was gone, but Yang understood the moment we did. I don’t know why, but Tai decided to tell her about Raven. I’ve never seen such a small girl filled with so much determination. Tai, just sort of, shut down, I guess. Stopped taking care of the girls, didn’t really leave his room. I did my best to help, but I was still a full-time hunter, couldn’t leave Patch defenseless. Yang took it upon herself to raise Ruby… until she entered Signal Academy. She got accepted, and I don’t know why, but that seemed to snap Tai right out of his funk. He acted like nothing happened… like he had raised them both ever since Summer disappeared. Yang was pissed… rightfully so, he didn’t have a right to do that to them, but she eventually got over it I guess.”

Qrow takes a minute to collect his thoughts before he places his hand on Jaune’s shoulder. “I’m telling you this because I want you to be better than Tai. You don’t have two little girls depending on you, but you have dedicated yourself to this war, and the team can’t afford to have you shut down, you’re too important. Tai’s problem was that he wouldn’t let anybody help him. But you have an entire team here that is willing to help if you would let them. So… next time you remember her, and it becomes too much, reach out to one of us… that’s all I ask of you, kiddo.” Jaune looks at him with tears in his eyes as he nods.

Qrow holds his arms out, and Jaune falls into them, sobbing softly.

When Jaune gets done crying his heart out, he leans back and uses his shirt to wipe his face. “Alright, kiddo, I know you’re tired, and I also know Oscar is wide awake in your guys’ tent worried about you, so why don’t you head off to bed. I’ll take first watch, and I’ll have Yang take the second,” Qrow says softly, ruffling Jaune’s hair. Jaune nods sleepily as he stands up shakily and starts making his way towards the tent.

“Qrow?” Jaune asks, turning back. Qrow just hums in confirmation. “There are about 5 people in the trees watching us. Have been there for the majority of the night. Blake heard them.”

“I know, Kiddo. Don’t worry.”


	3. Meeting the Ace-Ops

Qrow knew they were there. He’s known they’ve been there ever since he got back to the campfire. They must have shown up sometime during the hour that he was away. What he doesn’t know is why they are watching him and his kids. Or how they found them all the way out here in the Solitas hinterlands. He waits a few hours for them to make themselves known before he starts to get annoyed.

“I would appreciate it if you would all stop creeping on us. You know now that we know you’re there.”  _ I don’t have the energy to deal with this right now.  _ Qrow shakes his head, dispelling his thoughts.  _ Can’t afford to go down that road right now. Not with the kids depending on me. _

He keeps a hand on Harbinger as he hears a few soft thuds on the wet, snowy ground. The bushes before him rustle as he sees four huntsmen come out of the shrubbery. He quickly sweeps his eyes over the group. 

_ A team, but must have been specially selected. They are all of different ages. A kid not much older than Yang so he must be the rookie of the group. His weapon appears to be a rifle of sorts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had multiple uses. Fresh out of an Academy, not a lot of on job experience. Low threat level. The next is probably about Winter’s age. She seems like en endurance fighter, might have a similar semblance to Ruby. Her weapons aren’t visible, but I see enhancers along her shoulders, so she must not use her semblance to fuel her weapon, but to enhance her punches. Semblance like Ruby’s, fighting style more like Yang’s. Low level threat. The one next to her seems to rely on her strength, but her feet are bare save for some footwraps, so I expect she has a semblance that appears out of her feet. She is carrying a heavy hammer, so she must be extremely strong. Like Nora. Medium threat level, but leaning closer to a low level. The last one is tall but doesn’t seem to have a lot of physical strength. Isn’t carrying a weapon, so his semblance must be where he gets his strength and his weapon. Low level threat. All-in-all, they all seem to rely too much on their semblances, except for maybe the rookie, but who knows. They are all low-level threats alone, but if they work together well, who knows how dangerous they could be. Also, none of them seem to be the leader. There was a fifth one, Jaune said. Must be trying to trick us into thinking this is the team. _

“Where’s your leader?” Qrow asks nonchalantly, leaning against a tree. He hopes they don’t notice that he is putting himself between them and the tents. He will do whatever it takes to keep them away from the kids.

“You’re good.” Qrow whirls around, bringing up Harbinger. He sees a tall man standing with his arms crossed, looking around the campsite.  _ Ok, he doesn’t wear sleeves, so his semblance must be related to his arms. His weapon is… Is that a fishing rod? Whatever, you’ve seen weirder. He stands with confidence. This is the leader, but he looks like he relies too much on his semblance too. Also, a team of five? Must be operatives. He must have the strongest abilities, as the others are paired off it seems, already have partners. That means he can work on his own the most effectively. _

“Thanks,” he answers slowly, narrowing his eyes towards the man. “Now, would you mind telling me why you are stalking my kids?”

“You don’t strike me as the type to have a bunch of children. You appear more of a loner.”

“Yeah, well, appearances aren’t everything.”

At this, the man chuckles. He connects his fishing rod to a holder on his back and holds his hands up placatingly. “Don’t worry, we don’t have orders to hurt you… yet.”

Qrow keeps Harbinger up as he circles the man, putting himself between him and the tents once again. “That would be more comforting if it didn’t sound like you were planning to kill us.”

“Maybe we should introduce ourselves. Would hate to make the wrong first impression.” The man walks over to his team and puts his hands on the shoulders of the young Faunus and the woman with the arm enhancers. “This is Marrow and Harriet, and the other two are Elm and Vine. And my name is Clover. We are the Special Operatives of Atlas Military, and we were told to stake out a group of fugitives. Orders from General Ironwood himself.” As he gives all this information away, he watches Qrow critically, wanting to see his reaction. 

Qrow tenses up as he hears this. “James called us  _ fugitives _ ? What the hell has happened since I last saw him? He said he was going back to Atlas to fix the problems there, not call me and my kids out for actually helping! Has he gone insane?! He must not know about Haven… Or maybe he does… What if he’s compromised… Like Lionheart… Maybe it was a mistake to come to Atlas…” He continues muttering to himself as he starts pacing back and forth. Unfortunately, his outburst must have woken some of his traveling companions.

“Uncle Qrow? What happened?” Qrow turns around to see Ruby coming out of her tent, rubbing her eyes. He can see Weiss popping her head up over Ruby’s shoulder, looking much tenser.

Qrow sighs, rubbing his hands down his face. “Nothing Rubes, you and Weiss can go back to sleep.”

Weiss huffs, annoyed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Something has obviously happened, and you can’t honestly expect us to be able to sleep now that we know that.” She stands up and walks in front of Ruby, not noticing until she gets in front of her that she had fallen asleep standing up. “Wake up, you dolt! Qrow still needs to tell us what happened!”

Ruby startles awake with a yell and falls to the ground. “Weeeeiiiiiss! I’m tired, and if Uncle Qrow says not to worry, why should we worry?!” Weiss just rolls her eyes, helping Ruby back to her feet as she levels Qrow with a stern look.

Qrow sighs again and looks around, only now noticing that all the other tents have heads popping out of them (all except for Maria’s, he notes with amusement). He sees that most of the kids are either giving sheepish grins or confused looks, all except for Weiss and Yang, who are glaring at the group standing behind Qrow.

“All right, all right, you win.” He takes a deep breath, not sure how to continue. “So, about our plans to go to Atlas… That’s not happening anymore.”


	4. Qrow Just Wants to Keep His Kids Safe

Immediate chaos broke out among the group.

“You can’t be serious!”

“But we came all this way!”

“Everyone shut up for a minute! He can’t answer all our questions all at once. So, Uncle Qrow, what happened? Why can’t we go anymore?” Yang calls out among the yells, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the group standing behind Qrow.

Qrow sighs, and holds his hands up in a placating gesture, Yang’s questions having caused everyone to quiet down a bit, and wait for a response. _Well, I guess that worked. Have to remember that for the future. Though I doubt they’d listen if I was the one to tell them to shut up._ He lets out a soft huff of amusement as the thought crosses his mind. “Listen, I’ll explain it all in a minute, but for now, we have guests, that are apparently here to arrest us. So, if you will all kindly go back to bed, I will take care of this as quickly and quietly as possible.”

The so-called “Special Operatives” behind him, who up until this point, had been standing in a relaxed manner, watching the chaos unfold before them, immediately fell into their battle stances, glares coming out full-force. All of them, except for their leader, that is. _Clover, I think he said his name was._

“Now, now,” the man says, smiling easily. “I’m sure we can work this out peacefully. Would hate for any of your kids to get hurt.” He continues smiling as he says this, but Qrow grows more uneasy at the vague threat towards the kids standing behind him. He can see out of the corner of his eye, as Yang clearly understands the threat as well, and drops into a fighting crouch, her fists coming up quickly. She takes a few slow steps forward until she stands behind Qrow, and now in front of everyone else as well.

Qrow watches as Clover’s eyes track her movements, almost as if he’s analyzing her. He tightens his grip on Harbinger once again and stands up tall. He takes the half-step necessary to place himself in front of Yang and meets Clover’s eyes defiantly when they snap up to meet his in surprise.

“Yang. I want you to gather Maria, and get everyone else out of here. Now.”

He can feel Yang’s hesitation behind him and knew what was coming.

“Uncle Qrow…”

“Yang, I’m not asking. Go now, and I will meet up with you later. Keep them safe, don’t let Ruby and Oscar out of your sight. And try not to annoy Maria too much.” He threw in the last sentence quickly, trying to give off the appearance of calm, to ease some of the uneasiness he can feel rolling off of his niece.

It doesn’t seem to work. In fact, he thinks he can feel it grow, but she still starts quickly towards Maria’s tent.

The second she started moving, the Operatives sprung into action. Harriet, who seems to have a speed semblance tries to rush him, to get behind him, but years of chasing Ruby around helped him keep her in front of him.

“Go now!” he shouts out to the group behind him, who he can hear are scrambling into action.

Clover still just stands there, watching the scene unfold, but Qrow knows better than to let him out of his sight. Harriet gets pushed back and slams into a tree as she flies through the air. The other three try to circle him, but he quickly transforms Harbinger from sword form into scythe form and sweeps Marrow back towards Elm and Vine, determined to keep them from getting behind him, where he can hear the kids making their escape.

_I’m not sure I can take all of them, especially since there is no telling what their leader can do, but if I just buy the kids enough time, that will be enough for me. They know now not to go to Atlas, hopefully, so if I get arrested, that’s probably where I’ll be transported to. I know the kids are going to want to do something reckless if they find out that I’ve been taken, but I’m hoping Yang might keep them in line. Especially if they have Maria, and maybe Oz, too. Though, can’t say if I want him back quite yet._

He knocks the butt of his weapon into Vine’s face, causing the tall man to collapse into the snow, his aura shattering, and knocking him out cold. The Operatives all pause for a moment in shock at the sight of their teammate being knocked out so quickly into the battle, and Qrow can swear he hears Clover give a thoughtful hum as he finally starts moving towards the fight. Harriet growls towards Qrow, and Elm sharpens her glare. Marrow doesn’t seem to know what to think, as he keeps switching his gaze from Qrow to Vine to Clover. Clover’s expression is unreadable, and that makes Qrow more uncomfortable than any of the other’s emotions.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruby can’t even begin to understand the situation. She knew people were watching them during the campfire, they all knew, thanks to Blake. That wasn’t the issue. The issue is that after everything they have done, Uncle Qrow still doesn’t seem to think that they are capable of fighting. _So what if they’re here to arrest us?! We fought at Beacon, we fought at Haven, not to mention Brunswick Farm. Did he all of a sudden forget about all of that?!_

She grinds to a halt, letting out a yell towards Yang at the front of the group, who had Maria on her back, much to the chagrin of the elderly warrior. Everyone stops quickly, panting, and turns towards her with confused faces.

“What is it now, you dunce? We’re kind of running for our lives here?” Weiss snaps at her, glaring as she puts her hands on her hips, despite her still breathing quite heavily.

Ruby ignores her insult, more than used to her partner’s temper. Instead, she stands up tall and meets Yang’s confused gaze head-on. “We shouldn’t be running like this. Qrow might need our help, and we can fight. I know he’s trying to protect us or whatever, but we are capable of fighting them.”

Yang sighs, running a hand down her face and furrows her brows. “Ruby… Trust me, I don’t want to leave him behind either. But… He asked me to get you all out of here. Neither Maria nor Oscar are exactly combat-ready, and those soldiers back there didn’t have the appearance of common Atlesian soldiers.” Ruby watches as her sister’s shoulder’s sag in defeat and feels guilt roll in her stomach. She knows that Yang doesn’t want to leave Qrow behind either, and splitting up is never a good idea, but she can’t help but want to push the notion harder.

_Uncle Qrow is an amazing hunter. He’ll be fine. I mean, most of his fights, he does while he is drunk off his ass, and now he’s sober, so his fighting should be even better. At least… he says he’s sober. No! If he says he’s sober, then why shouldn’t I believe him? He’s never lied to me before…_

Ruby shakes her head, furrowing her brow, not liking her doubt about her Uncle, that no matter what she does, keeps creeping back up.

“... I think Ruby’s right…”

She snaps her head up as she hears Blake say this meekly, not meeting Yang’s eyes, which also shot up at the sound of her voice. Though, that was normal for Yang. Her sister might not admit it, but Ruby knows that she has feelings for Blake. _Not like you have much room to talk…_ She shakes her head as she feels a blush take over her face, and jumps back into the topic at hand.

“You do?”

Blake gives a small smile and nods her head. “I think we should go back and help Qrow. He’s a great hunter, but Yang’s right. Those soldiers didn’t look like common soldiers. My bet is that they are Special Operatives of some sort.”

“The Ace Ops…” Weiss chimes in, bringing her hand up to her chin thoughtfully as she continues her thought process. “They are Atlas Military’s top soldiers and work directly under Ironwood. They are the best of the best from Atlas Academy. Though, from what Winter tells me, I think we could take them…” She shoots Yang an apologetic smile and shrugs as Yang sighs in defeat. Yang quickly glances around the rest of the group, and they are all looking at her with the same determination in their eyes.

Ruby meets Yang’s gaze once more as her sister moves her eyes towards her, and Yang shoots her a small smile.

“Alright, sis, what do you have in mind?”


End file.
